Development of an EMS planning framework for environmental management practices

The primary objective of this Technical Note is to provide guidance to utility companies either for improving the operations-phase implementation of a current environmental management system or for developing a system. The guidelines presented herein provide the approach, content and implementation protocols for developing a completed operations component of the Environmental Management System (EMS) (i.e., the Operations and Environmental Quality Management System, or "OEMS").

Environmental awareness rapidly increased worldwide these recent decades. Likewise, individuals but also business organizations have begun practicing ”Green” initiatives in their organization’s operations to reduce environmental impact. The implementation of the Environmental Management System (EMS) in the Green Supply Chain (GSC) is an approach to adopt the green initiatives in the business operations that beneficial to the organization, not just regarding the environmental benefits, but economic and social as well. In an example where EMS improves the environmental performance of the organization, previous research suggests that improvements not only occur within the limits of the organizational operation but also need to be extended throughout the supply chain. The effectiveness of EMS implementation in the green supply chain boosts the environmental performance of the organization. Ultimately, EMS and GSCM practices are complementary to each other. Organizations that implemented EMS have more signs of improving the environment not only at the boundaries of their organizations but also across their network of buyers and suppliers. This research explains the debate by empirically assessing the relationship between EMS and GSCM practices.

Since the 1970s, the U.S. Army has instituted environmental policies, programs, regulations, and management systems to ensure that its mission and support activities have minimal effects on the environment and comply with national policy. In recent years, the Army has incorporated environmental management systems (EMSs) at some installations through the DOD ISO 14001 EMS pilot program, in anticipation of Executive Order 13148, Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management.1 While the EO does not require an EMS to be ISO 14001 compliant, many federal agencies are considering modeling their EMS after ISO 14001. This article presents how well current Army‐wide policy and guidance aligns with the ISO 14001 environmental management standard and offers opportunities for improvements in policy.When viewed from a corporate perspective, the Army generally has the major components for an ISO 14001 EMS, which include environmental policy, planning, implementation and operations, checking and corrective action, and management review. Army policies and guidance that provide the framework and demonstrate general conformance with ISO 14001 fall into three groups: (1) strategies and plans (the Army Environmental Strategy into the 21st Century, the Army Strategic Environmental Assessment,2 and the Army Environmental Campaign Plan and Operational Directive); (2) Army regulations (AR) for management, organization and function, and the environment; and (3) program management processes, reports, and databases (e.g., EPR, ISR II, EQR, ECAS, and EQCC). Additional documentation needed to meet ISO 14000 criteria include: (1) the unifying policy and guidance that integrates and streamlines the Army EMS; (2) a comprehensive assessment system that focuses on the management of the Army Environmental Program; (3) systems for updating administrative publications (e.g., ARs) in a timely manner (i.e., AR 200‐1, Environmental Protection and Enhancement, and AR 200‐3, National Resources—Land, Forest, and Wildlife Management); and (4) new policy and procedures for Army outreach. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

<strong>Background:</strong> Environmental problems present the most complex and important managerial challenges of the 21st century. Most businesses have responded to these environmental problems by adopting an environmental management system.<p><strong>Aim:</strong> This article investigates South African small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners’ intentions to implement an environmental management system based on the theory of planned behaviour.</p><p><strong>Setting:</strong> Although large businesses are clearly of interest with respect to their environmental management, especially given their prominence in many of the most environmentally impactful sectors, the relative neglect of the environmental management of SMEs is disconcerting, given their overall importance in most economies. In addition, very little research used the theory of planned behaviour to empirically test SME owners’ intentions, to implement an environmental management system.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> A quantitative survey was used to collect primary data from 326 SME owners by a structured questionnaire.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Regression analysis results confirmed the influence of SME owners’ attitudes towards an environmental management system and pro-environmental norms on their intention to implement an environmental management system. Perceived behavioural control, however, did not significantly influence the SME owners’ intention to implement an environmental management system.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> These findings provide valuable insights into the implementation of environmental management systems among South African SMEs. The theory of planned behaviour also seems to be an appropriate means to investigate the intentions of SMEs to implement an environmental management system.</p>

In most organizations, Environmental Management Systems (EMS) adoption is based on voluntary basis; in which the adoption depends on the organization’s aspirations for better environmental performance. Organizations are attracted by very practical benefits through implementation of EMS in their organizations. The primary purpose of an EMS implementation is to improve environmental performance continually in an organization. This research investigates the factors that drive the adoption of EMS by organizations in Sarawak. Empirical findings of a survey on the above in Sarawak organizations are presented. About 112 survey questionnaires invitations were forwarded to various organizations in Sarawak and a total of 47 responses (about 42.0%) were received, Walford (1995) in his assertion said that sampling techniques require 10 percent or more of observations or sampling fractions so that they are to be considered as a representative of the total population. From this research, organizations which have implemented an EMS are mostly from larger organizations in Sarawak which have been established for more than 15 years with over 251 employees and more than one operating location. The results showed that ISO 14001 is the most common EMS frameworks adopted by organizations in Sarawak; followed by Round-table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Among the EMS adoption factors in Sarawak, EMS implementation motivation and the role of top management are the most critical factors in EMS adoption in Sarawak. Besides, management support is also another essential factor for EMS adoption among Sarawak organizations; followed by current market orientation factor..

Training and communication in the implementation of environmental management systems (ISO 14001): a case study at the University of Gävle, Sweden

A cross-functional team of environmental regulatory experts, plant managers, and plant engineers have been working since 1991 on the development, implementation and maintenance of the Environmental Compliance Management System. The Environmental Compliance Management System is a practical and accurate method of determining the applicability of the state and federal environmental regulations and of establishing standard and straightforward procedures to meet these requirements. The Environmental Compliance Management System allows individual manufacturing facilities to avoid the additional manpower that would be required to read, digest and decide on the applicability and plan of action to meet the requirements of all the environmental regulations.

Panacea, common sense, or just a label?: The value of ISO 14001 environmental management systems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how different actors influenced the implementation of an environmental management system (EMS) and a performance measurement system (PMS) in a case company when the systems are eventually integrated. Another purpose is to illustrate how the frameworks of Gibson and Earley and Lovaglia et al. can be utilized to investigate the implementation of different management systems in practice.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an interpretative case study, which utilizes qualitative methods such as semi‐structured interviews and internal documents.FindingsThe results indicate the importance of maintaining a separation between the power and status of an actor in EMS and PMS implementation processes, and the ways in which the power and status of actors in the EMS and PMS implementation differed. The status and role of an actor can change although the power may be static during the implementation of different management systems. Therefore, the paper confirms the classification of Lovaglia et al. and proposes that their classification should be added to the framework of Gibson and Earley.Originality/valueEarlier accounting studies using the institutional theory framework of Burns and Scapens did not specifically investigate the role of actors, or their power and status in implementing two different management systems. The collective action frameworks of Gibson and Earley and Lovaglia et al. have not been practically utilized before in EMS and PMS studies. Furthermore, EMS and PMS integration studies have usually been normative without empirical case data.

Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), and abutting Queensland’s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) is widely used by the ADF. This paper examines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber (TS) exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.

In this study, the benefits of implementing ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS), employees' responses towards the implementation of EMS, the reasons for resisting the implementation and the challenges encountered by top management in implementing EMS were explored. A questionnaire survey to 97 ISO 14001 certified manufacturing companies in the State of Selangor was conducted. The findings showed that improved corporate image is the most substantial benefit brought by implementing EMS. A majority of the respondents were optimistic and they believed the implementation of EMS was good to the company and it benefited them. The top three reasons for resisting the implementation of EMS were employee's preference to stay at status quo, employees were haunted by the past failures in EMS and fear of the unknown. The findings also indicated three major challenges encountered by top management in the implementation of EMS are top management commitment towards the implementation, identification of environmental aspect, impact and legal compliance.

Management of institutional radioactive waste in Slovenia is one of the main processes in the management system of Agency for Radwaste Management (ARAO). The management system integrates the quality management system ISO 9001 and the environmental management system that was certified according to the standard ISO 14001:2004 in October 2007. The certificate represents a permanent commitment of ARAO to improve the environmental management system and implement environmental planning. Environmental planning includes and maintains environmental objectives and targets in all ARAO’s activities, especially in managing the institutional radioactive waste that can have potential environmental impacts and is considered as a risky activity from the public view point. We defined a general ARAO’s register of environmental aspects with seven main groups of aspects. Each aspect was evaluated according to its impacts with the help of multiple criteria and only the aspects evaluated as significant are dealt with in further environmental planning. Environmental planning was implemented in the process of managing of institutional radioactive waste. Our methodology for evaluating the significance of environmental aspects showed three significant aspects. Appropriate environmental objectives and targets were defined for these aspects in a way that they were measurable, if applicable, consistent with the ARAO’s environmental policy. It was assured that they provided adequate environmental protection measures and protection of human health, compliance with national legal requirements and international directives dealing with radioactive waste management and that the production of radioactive waste was minimized. The environmental planning is carried out annually, and each year we are looking for opportunities to minimize potential environmental impacts of our service. In this paper, ARAO’s experience with environmental planning and the realization of the objectives and targets that have already been achieved, implemented and integrated in the process of managing of institutional radioactive waste are presented. The results and the successful completion of environmental programs contribute to optimization of the management system and the quality of ARAO’s process performance. Implementation of environmental management system according to ISO 14001 increased the satisfaction of producers of institutional radioactive waste management that come from medicine, research and industry. It is also part of confidence building by our stakeholders.

Implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) has become an effective mechanism to address environmental problems of an organization and direct its activities to achieve the goals of ·sustainable development. .After realizing its effectiveness in the developed countries and in the private enterprises, the developing countries as well as public institutions are showing inclination to adapt environmental management systems. Some local authorities in developed countries have shown significant achievements by implementing EMS based on ISO 14000 series. Some other local authorities have made similar achievements by implementing their own EMS without any accreditation and external auditing. This paper first discusses the benefits of installing EMS in local authorities and then presents the fmdings of multiple case studies conducted in two local authorities in Japan and Thailand where EMSs based on ISO 14000 have been implemented and later continued with self-man&gement without involving ISO. The paper reiterates that implementing of EMS in local authorities in developing countries is practical and useful even without the accreditation of ISO. Involvement of professional bodies and senior citizens is suggested as an alternative to external verification of EMS performance.

Implementing environmental with other standardized management systems: Scope, sequence, time and integration

There is a growing need for industries to become accountable for their actions towards the environment. In order to make it possible, it is required to develop comprehensive, integrated and progressive environmental policies. These environmental policies would maintain dynamic environmental equilibrium. Today there is requirement by the National and International bodies to have standardised environmental management systems (EMS). These systems would keep the records of all environmental issues pertaining to the organisation. The EMS is made simple through the introduction of the ISO 14000 series. ISO 14000 provides guidelines on how to successfully manage and reduce environmental impacts through management functions, while at the same time allowing for high levels of socioeconomic growth and dedication to sustainable development. The implementation of EMS through ISO 14000 series would involve the expenditure. Every organisation is interested in economic aspects before the implementation of any system. They want that the system should provide the financial benefits, which will motivate to keep going on. This paper discusses economic aspects for the implementation of ISO 14000 an EMS tool in any organization with the help of cost of environment concept. The paper presents the concept of quality cost being applied to justify the implementation of EMS.